Performance Differences Between High and Low Empathy Ability in Conflicts of Interest: An ERP Study

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Social Science

Background:

• Empathy is inversely related to conflict behaviors like aggression.
• Understanding empathy's role in conflict processing is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate differences in high and low empathy groups' performance during general conflict.
• To analyze behavioral and neural responses to conflict in relation to empathy levels.

Main Methods:

• Administered the Chinese version of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI-C) to 250 undergraduates.
• Classified participants into high (n=38) and low (n=37) empathy groups.
• Utilized an ultimatum game paradigm and event-related potential (ERP) technology to record EEG during conflict scenarios.

Main Results:

• High-empathy group showed longer response times and lower rejection rates.
• Low-empathy group exhibited more negative MFN amplitude for conflicting proposals.
• Low-empathy group displayed greater LPP for non-conflicting proposals, unlike the high-empathy group.

Conclusions:

• High-empathy individuals display more altruism and less conflict tendency.
• High-empathy individuals mitigate negative evaluations of conflicting offers.
• Low-empathy individuals demonstrate a stronger drive for non-conflicting outcomes.